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University of Colorado Boulder’s chancellor to retire

DiStefano will remain in the chancellor office until a replacement is named
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A statue of the University of Colorado Boulder mascot Ralphie in front of a temporary outdoor study area. The campus shifted has to a two-week all-online class schedule driven by climbing coronavirus infection rates. Boulder, Tuesday, Sept 22, 2020.

University of Colorado Boulder’s chancellor Philip DiStefano is set to retire. DiStefano has worked on campus for the past 50 years. 

“I will also continue to engage with major donors and highly engaged alumni across the university’s landscape, while supporting the transition of the new chancellor,” DiStefano said in a State of the Campus address. "It has been such a rewarding and humbling experience to serve as chancellor of Colorado’s flagship university for the past 15 years. I am so proud of our faculty, staff and students and all that you have accomplished, and I also will treasure the many alumni, donors, parents and friends of the university I was lucky enough to meet.”

DiStefano will remain in the chancellor office until a replacement is named, then transition into a role as a professor with CU’s School of Education. He will also serve as senior executive director of the CU Center for Leadership and will continue his roles as the Quigg and Virginia S. Newton Endowed Chair in Leadership.

University of Colorado system president Todd Saliman plan to launch a national search for the next chancellor. 

“I had never been to Colorado before when I was hired in 1974 as a freshly minted PhD graduate and former high school English teacher,” DiStefano said. “But I knew about CU Boulder and was confident it would be a good fit where I could make a difference through research and teaching.”